The Latin American Americans

When Peruvian Nobel laureate Mario Vargas Llosa died at 89 in Lima in 2025, many Latin American commentators in mainstream and social media struck a similar note: he was a great writer despite his political views. Vargas Llosa was a forceful and outspoken classical liberal, pro-Western and pro-market. He wanted Latin America to embrace more of the capitalist ideas that had helped Europe and the United States become prosperous societies with powerful cultures, but he also believed deeply in civil liberties, free speech, and the advancement of rights for women and gays.